Qixue Shuangbu decoction and acupuncture combined with Western medicine in acute severe stroke patients

Table 1 Comparison of scores between and within groups (mean ± SD)

Indicators	Time	Control group (n = 34)	Observation group (n = 34)	t value	P value
APACHE II score (points)	Before treatment	17.58 ± 3.21	17.62 ± 3.08	0.052	0.958
	After treatment	13.25 ± 2.14a	10.11 ± 1.83a	6.502	0.000
MODS score (points)	Before treatment	14.55 ± 2.53	14.48 ± 2.61	0.112	0.911
	After treatment	9.89 ± 1.67a	8.21 ± 1.43a	4.456	0.000
NIHSS score (points)	Before treatment	19.97 ± 2.07	20.01 ± 2.13	0.079	0.938
	After treatment	10.74 ± 1.74a	8.56 ± 1.55a	5.455	0.000
TCM syndrome points (points)	Before treatment	24.12 ± 2.58	23.97 ± 2.61	0.238	0.812
	After treatment	11.41 ± 1.25a	7.85 ± 1.06a	12.666	0.000

^aP < 0.05 vs before treatment.

APACHE II: Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II; MODS: Organ dysfunction syndrome; NIHSS: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; TCM: Traditional Chinese medicine.

Table 2 Comparison of complement and immunoglobulins system indexes between and within groups (mean ± SD)

Indicators	Time	Control group (n = 34)	Observation group (n = 34)	t value	P value
Complement C3 (g/L)	Before treatment	1.04 ± 0.12	1.02 ± 0.13	0.659	0.512
	After treatment	1.28 ± 0.17a	1.43 ± 0.21a	3.237	0.002
Complement C4 (g/L)	Before treatment	0.22 ± 0.05	0.23 ± 0.04	0.911	0.366
	After treatment	0.31 ± 0.07a	0.37 ± 0.09a	3.068	0.003
IgM (g/L)	Before treatment	0.74 ± 0.11	0.73 ± 0.14	0.327	0.744
	After treatment	1.11 ± 0.15a	1.36 ± 0.18a	6.221	0.000
IgG (g/L)	Before treatment	9.74 ± 0.41	9.68 ± 0.38	0.626	0.534
	After treatment	10.64 ± 0.52a	11.47 ± 0.61a	6.038	0.000

^aP < 0.05 vs before treatment.

Ig: Immunoglobulins.

Table 3 Comparison of intestinal mucosal barrier function indexes between groups and within groups (mean ± SD)

Indicators	Time	Control group (n = 34)	Observation group (n = 34)	t value	P value
DAO (U/mL)	Before treatment	3.28 ± 0.34	3.31 ± 0.30	0.386	0.701
	After treatment	4.15 ± 0.38a	4.63 ± 0.45a	4.752	0.000
D-LA (mmol/L)	Before treatment	0.18 ± 0.07	0.19 ± 0.06	0.632	0.529
	After treatment	0.27 ± 0.08a	0.36 ± 0.10a	4.098	0.000
Lipopolysaccharide (ng/L)	Before treatment	17.41 ± 4.52	17.35 ± 4.67	0.054	0.957
	After treatment	11.14 ± 2.05a	8.21 ± 1.61a	6.554	0.000

^aP < 0.05 vs before treatment.

DAO: Diamine oxidase; D-LA: D-lactic acid.

Table 4 Comparison of calcitonin gene-related peptide, ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase 1, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-2, interleukin-8 between and within groups (mean ± SD)

Indicators	Time	Control group (n = 34)	Observation group (n = 34)	t value	P value
CGRP (pg/mL)	Before treatment	21.52 ± 5.36	20.97 ± 5.71	0.409	0.683
	After treatment	28.26 ± 6.17a	36.58 ± 6.78a	5.292	0.000
UCH-L1 (µg/L)	Before treatment	0.40 ± 0.18	0.41 ± 0.13	0.263	0.794
	After treatment	0.25 ± 0.11a	0.17 ± 0.10a	3.138	0.003
TNF-α (pg/mL)	Before treatment	44.52 ± 5.89	42.97 ± 6.01	1.074	0.287
	After treatment	21.02 ± 4.15a	14.63 ± 3.85a	6.582	0.000
IL-2 (pg/mL)	Before treatment	15.89 ± 2.16	15.81 ± 2.24	0.150	0.881
	After treatment	10.13 ± 1.92a	6.78 ± 1.52a	7.977	0.000
IL-8 (pg/mL)	Before treatment	5.23 ± 0.82	5.18 ± 0.91	0.238	0.813
	After treatment	4.64 ± 0.53a	3.47 ± 0.42a	10.088	0.000

^aP < 0.05 vs before treatment.

CGRP: Calcitonin gene-related peptide; UCH-L1: Ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase 1; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-α; IL: Interleukin.

Table 5 Comparison of intestinal flora between groups and within groups (mean ± SD)

Indicators	Time	Control group (n = 34)	Observation group (n = 34)	t value	P value
Bifidobacterium (× 107 CFU)	Before treatment	9.74 ± 1.14	9.67 ± 1.21	0.246	0.807
	After treatment	11.11 ± 1.25a	12.78 ± 1.34a	5.314	0.000
Lactobacillus (× 107 CFU)	Before treatment	9.42 ± 1.14	9.36 ± 1.08	0.223	0.824
	After treatment	10.78 ± 1.27a	12.63 ± 1.41a	5.685	0.000
Enterococcus (× 107 CFU)	Before treatment	8.85 ± 1.14	8.79 ± 1.21	0.210	0.834
	After treatment	9.75 ± 1.21a	11.41 ± 1.37a	5.296	0.000
Bacteroides (× 107 CFU)	Before treatment	7.96 ± 0.21	8.02 ± 0.26	1.047	0.299
	After treatment	6.41 ± 0.17a	6.02 ± 0.14a	10.326	0.000

^aP < 0.05 vs before treatment.

Table 6 Comparison of the incidence of gastrointestinal complications and pressure ulcers between groups, n (%)

Group	Gastrointestinal complications				Pressure ulcer	Total complications
	Diarrhea	Constipate	Gastrointestinal bleeding	Vomit
Control group (n = 34)	2 (5.88)	1 (2.94)	1 (2.94)	3 (8.82)	1 (2.94)	8 (23.53)
Observation group (n = 34)	1 (2.94)	0 (0.00)	0 (0.00)	2 (5.88)	0 (0.00)	3 (8.82)
χ2 value						2.711
P value						0.100

Table 7 Comparison of ventilator-associated pneumonia incidence, weaning success rate, hospital stay, and 28-d mortality between groups, n (%)

Group	Incidence of VAP	Offline success rate	Hospital stay (d)	28 d case fatality rate (%)
Control group (n = 34)	11 (32.35)	18 (52.94)	20.56 ± 5.82	7 (20.59)
Observation group (n = 34)	5 (14.71)	23 (67.65)	16.78 ± 4.53	2 (5.88)
χ2/t value	2.942	1.536	2.989	3.202
P value	0.086	0.215	0.004	0.074

VAP: Ventilator-associated pneumonia.